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Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia

Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia

These two large Etruscan cemeteries reflect different types of burial practices from the 9th to the 1st century BC, and bear witness to the achievements of Etruscan culture. Which over nine centuries developed the earliest urban civilization in the northern Mediterranean. Some of the tombs are monumental, cut in rock and topped by impressive tumuli (burial mounds). Many feature carvings on their walls, others have wall paintings of outstanding quality. The necropolis near Cerveteri, known as Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares and neighbourhoods. The site contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli; and some, also carved in rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. These provide the only surviving evidence of Etruscan residential architecture. The necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut in the rock. It is famous for its 200 painted tombs, the earliest of which date from the 7th century BC.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Nécropoles étrusques de Cerveteri et de Tarquinia

Ces deux grandes nécropoles étrusques reflètent divers types de pratiques funéraires entre le IXe et le Ier siècle avant J.C. et comptent parmi les plus beaux témoignages du monde étrusque, cette civilisation urbaine du nord de la Méditerranée. Certaines tombes du site sont monumentales, taillées dans la roche et surmontées d’impressionnants tumuli. Nombre d’entre elles comportent des bas-reliefs, tandis que d’autres renferment de remarquables peintures murales. La nécropole proche de Cerveteri, connue comme Banditaccia, comprend des milliers de tombes disposées selon un plan quasi urbain, avec des quartiers, rues et petites places. Les tombes sont de divers types : tranchées creusées dans le roc, tumuli, ou d’autres taillées dans la roche en forme de cabane ou de maison avec un luxe de détails architecturaux. Elles constituent l’unique témoignage qui nous soit parvenu de l’architecture résidentielle étrusque. La nécropole de Tarquinia, également appelée Monterozzi, contient 6000 tombes creusées dans la roche. Elle est célèbre pour ses 200 tombes peintes, dont les plus anciennes remontent au VIIe siècle avant J.C.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

المقابر الأترورية في تشيرفيتيري وتاركينيا

تعكس هاتان المقبرتان الأتروريتان الكبيرتان أنواعًا متعددة من الممارسات الجنائزية بين القرن التاسع والقرن الأول ف.م. وتعتبَر من أجمل الشهادات في العالم الأتروريّ، أي تلك الحضارة الحضرية في شمال المتوسط. كما أن بعض قبور الموقع هائلة منحوتة في الصخر وتعلوها رُكَم مذهلة. ويحتوي كثير منها على نُقيشات بينما تحوي أخرى رسومًا جدارية مذهلة. فالمقبرة القريبة من "تشيرفيتيري" المعروفة بـ"بانديتاتشا" ، تحتوي على آلاف القبور المصفوفة حسب خطة شبه حضرية، مع أحياء، وشوارع وساحات صغيرة. والقبور من أنواع مختلفة: خنادق محفورة في الصخر، ورُكَم، أو أخرى منحوتة في الصخر بشكل أكواخ أو بيوت مع إسهاب بالتفاصيل الهندسية. وهي تشكل الشهادة الوحيدة التي وصلتنا من الهندسة المعمارية السكنية الأترورية. أما مقبرة "تاركينيا" والتي تسمّى أيضًا "مونتيروتزي" فهي تحتوي على 6000 قبر محفور في الصخر. وهي مشهورة بقبورها الـ 200 الرسومة والتي يعود أقدمها إلى القرن السابع ق.م.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

塞尔维托里和塔尔奎尼亚的伊特鲁立亚人公墓

这两座巨大的伊特鲁立亚人墓葬反映了公元前9世纪至公元前1世纪不同的墓葬形式,是伊特鲁立亚文化成就的见证。它们在九个多世纪里推动了地中海北部地区最早的城市文明的发展。有些坟墓以岩石刻成,上面是给人深刻印象的墓丘。坟墓的墙壁上有很多质量精美的壁画和岩石雕刻。靠近塞尔维托里的墓地又以公墓见称,包括数千个以类似城市规划的模式安置的墓地,带有街道、小广场和邻近居所。这里有不同类型的墓葬: 岩刻沟渠和坟墓,也有一些石刻的棚屋或房舍形状的墓室,带有许多更加精致的建筑结构。这些是伊特鲁立亚人民居建筑的仅存证明。塔尔奎尼亚墓葬群一般称之为曼特罗契(Monterozzi),包括了6000座岩石刻成的坟墓。其中200座有壁画的墓葬最著名,最早的可以追溯到公元前7世纪。

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Этрусские некрополи близ Черветери и Тарквинии

Эти два больших этрусских кладбища отражают различные способы захоронения в период IX-I вв. до н.э. Некоторые из гробниц монументальны, они выбиты в скале, а сверху покрыты мощными земляными насыпями – «тумули». На стенах многих гробниц нанесены различные изображения прекрасного качества, вырезанные или расписные. Некрополь около Черветери, известный как Бандитаччия, содержит тысячи гробниц, размещенных по плану, подобному городскому, т.е. с улицами, небольшими площадями и кварталами. Некрополь Тарквинии, также известный как Монтероцци, включает около 6 тыс. каменных могил, вырубленных прямо в скалах. Он славится своими 200 расписанными гробницами, самая ранняя из которых датируется VII в. до н.э.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Necrópolis etruscas de Cerveteri y Tarquinia

Estas dos grandes necrópolis son testigos de los distintos ritos funerarios practicados por los etruscos desde los siglos IX a I a.C. y son una de los mejores testimonios de la cultura de este pueblo, creador de la primera civilización urbana del norte del Mediterráneo Algunas de sus tumbas, excavadas en la roca y rematadas por túmulos impresionantes, son grandiosas. Muchas de ellas están ornadas con bajorrelieves o pinturas murales de calidad excepcional. La necrópolis de Banditaccia, situada en las cercanías de la localidad de Cerveteri, posee miles de tumbas cuya disposición está organizada en función de un trazado análogo al plan urbanístico de una ciudad, con sus barrios, calles y plazuelas. Las tumbas de este cementerio son de tipos muy diferentes: túmulos, zanjas excavadas en la piedra y oquedades practicadas en la roca en forma de chozas o casas con gran profusión de elementos estructurales, que hacen de ellas los únicos vestigios existentes de la arquitectura residencial etrusca. La necrópolis de Tarquinia, conocida con el nombre de Monterozzi, posee 6.000 sepulcros cavados en la roca y es famosa por los 200 que están ornados con pinturas. Las sepulturas más antiguas datan del siglo VII a.C.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

チェルヴェテリとタルキニアのエトルリア古代都市群
イタリア北部にある2つの大規模なエトルリア時代の墳墓には、紀元前9~前1世紀の異なる埋葬習慣が見られ、エトルリア文化の到達点を示すものとなっている。中には、岩を切り、その上を埋葬塚で覆った重要な墳墓もある。チェルヴェテリに隣接した墳墓はバンディタッチアという名で知られ、何千もの墓が、道路や四角形の区域とともに都市のように構成されている。別名モンテロッツィとも呼ばれるこのタルキニアには、岩を切り込んで造られた6000もの墳墓がある。ここは、壁画が描かれた200墳墓で知られ、最も早いものは紀元前7世紀に造られている。

source: NFUAJ

Etruskische necropolissen van Cerveteri en Tarquinia

De Etruskische begraafplaatsen weerspiegelen verschillende soorten begrafenispraktijken van de 9e tot de 1e eeuw voor Christus en getuigen van de verworvenheden van de Etruskische cultuur. Deze ontwikkelde gedurende ruim negen eeuwen de vroegste stedelijke beschaving in het noordelijk Middellandse Zeegebied. Sommige graven zijn uit rotsen gekerfd en bekroond met tumuli (grafheuvels). Veel grafkamers hebben houtsnijwerk of schilderingen op hun muren. De necropolis in de buurt van Cerveteri (Banditaccia) bevat duizenden graven georganiseerd in een stadachtige indeling, met straatjes, pleintjes en buurten. De necropolis van Tarquinia (Monterozzi) telt 6.000 rotsgraven waarvan er 200 beschilderd zijn. De oudste dateert uit de 7e eeuw vóór Christus.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The property encompasses the two necropolises of the Banditaccia and the Monterozzi, the most important cemeteries of the ancient Etruscan city-states of Cerveteri and Tarquinia. These two cities were built near the western coast in central Italy, north of the city of Rome. Together, they have provided the majority of the most significant archaeological discoveries associated with this civilization over a period of nine centuries. The two necropolises and their buffer zones cover a large area – a whole property of 326.93 ha and a buffer zone of 4,932.11 ha.

The necropolis near Cerveteri, known as the Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares, and neighbourhoods. The 197.57 ha site dates from the 9th century BCE and contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli which often contain more than one tomb; and some, also carved in rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. The Banditaccia necropolis, among the largest in antiquity, reproduces the ‘city of the living’. Because there is little surviving written information on the Etruscans, this site provides exceptional testimony of Etruscan domestic architecture from archaic times to the Hellenic period.

The whole necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut into the rock. Covering 129.36 ha, it is one of the most extensive complexes known. Tarquinia is famous for its 200 painted tombs, the earliest of which date from the 7th century BCE. These paintings provide the only major testimony of classic artwork of pre-Roman times existing in the Mediterranean basin.

Together, the Etruscan cemeteries at Cerveteri and Tarquinia offer the sole important attestation of this population that created the first urban culture in the western Mediterranean, surviving for around 700 years, from the eighth to the first century BCE in central Italy, extending from northern Latium to Tuscany.

The necropolises have been known for centuries. Michelangelo visited Tarquinia during the Renaissance and a related sketch is held in Florence’s Buonarroti Archives.

Criterion (i): The necropolises of Tarquinia and Cerveteri are masterpieces of creative genius: Tarquinia's large-scale wall paintings are exceptional both for their formal qualities and for their content, which reveal aspects of life, death, and religious beliefs of the ancient Etruscans. Cerveteri exceptionally testifies in a funerary context the same town planning and architectural schemes used in an ancient city.

Criterion (iii): The two necropolises constitute a unique and exceptional testimony to the ancient Etruscan civilisation, the only urban type of civilisation in pre-Roman Italy. Moreover, the depiction of daily life in the frescoed tombs, many of which are replicas of Etruscan houses, is a unique testimony to this vanished culture.

Criterion (iv): Many of the tombs of Tarquinia and Cerveteri represent types of buildings that no longer exist in any other form. The cemeteries, replicas of Etruscan town planning schemes, are some of the earliest existing in the region.

Integrity

The property and the buffer zone that encircles the necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, includes all the territory covered in ancient times by the two inhabited centres and the other numerous cemeteries surrounding them. The two archaeological sites cover a vast area, most of it already excavated. The property is in a good state of conservation and is continually monitored by the competent authorities of the ministry responsible for cultural heritage.

Several tombs at Cerveteri discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, including the Tomba dei Rilievi (Tomb of the Reliefs), and the tombs known as ‘dei Sarcofagi’, 'del Triclinio’ and ‘dell’Alcova’ had artefacts removed to the private collection of Marquis Campana and later to various museums in Italy and abroad (including the Louvre and the Hermitage). Although in the 1960s, some of the wall paintings from Tarquinia were removed and placed in museums, this practice is no longer happening. The archaeological museums, related to each of the necropolises, are situated adjacent to the sites and included within the buffer zone.

The necropolises cover a large area, extending into the buffer zone, including privately-owned lands. At Tarquinia, efforts are made to acquire these private parcels for the State.

Authorities are aware that the property is threatened by some illegal building within the buffer zone primarily on agricultural land at Cerveteri. Additionally, the impact of tourism on the fragile archaeological remains, particularly the painted tombs, is a concern.

Authenticity

The necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia preserve our information relating to Etruscan civilization, both for its town planning and for its domestic architecture. The surviving topography is consistent with the design of the ancient Etruscan town sites on plateaus. Moreover, the authenticity of the property is confirmed by the permanency of the architectural structure of the tombs, whose interior safeguards painted decorations of inestimable value, which are still distinctly visible. Additionally, the preservation of the city-like plan at Banditaccia includes the preservation of the form, design, and materials of the structural tombs.

All conservation work has been carried out in compliance with the national Restoration Code and its stated principles including the use of local materials and craft techniques.

Protection and management requirements

The entire Banditaccia archaeological site at Cerveteri was some time ago expropriated for public use and consequently the property is state owned and is part of the ‘cultural domain’. The Monterozzi necropolis at Tarquinia has been only partially expropriated (the Calvario area, the Scataglini necropolis, and the Doganaccia tombs), and is both state owned and privately owned. The national legislation, under Legislative decree, n. 42/2004 provides appropriate safeguarding measures, ensuring total control over archaeological assets, managed by the ministry responsible for cultural heritage. Referring both to the property and the buffer zone, national, regional and local legislation provides further regulation with reference to the protection of landscape interest and territorial governance.

In accordance with national legislation, the entire property and the buffer zone fall within the area declared by the State as a “zone of archaeological interest” and is under the strictest rules for protection, which ensure that any activity on the site must be authorized by the ministry responsible for cultural heritage. Excavation must be carried out or authorized by the ministry.

Many interdisciplinary studies have investigated the reasons for the decay of the property and the possible pre-emptive measures. The main identified threats affecting the necropolises are related to environmental factors. The main risks to the painted tombs result from the opening of these sites to visitors, whose presence negatively impact the thermal and humidity conditions. Fire risk is also present at the necropolises, due to summer drought.

Management of the property falls within the responsibility of the ministry responsible for cultural heritage that assures protection, conservation, and public and social enjoyment.

A fenced area within the property is open daily to visitors. (Two parking areas have been provided at the Banditaccia site for visitors and school groups.) In order to balance conservation and tourism, specific admission policy regulates the entrance of visitors to each tomb. (For example, controlled glass barriers preserve tombs at Tarquinia from micro-climatic variations.) Archaeological excavation, research, and conservation are ongoing processes on the sites.

The management plan of the property has five distinct action plans: Knowledge Plan, Protection and Conservation Plan, Cultural Heritage Enhancement Plan, Economic Development Plan, and Cultural Promotion, Training, Awareness Building Plan.

The responsible ministry, through its peripheral branch, coordinates planning, implementation, as well as the coordination of management plan activities. Moreover, in 2003, the ministry responsible for cultural heritage, the Lazio regional government authority, and Cerveteri and Tarquinia municipalities signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work jointly towards the protection and rehabilitation of the areas surrounding the necropolises. Regular patrols by local wardens combat illegal building in the buffer zone.

The two municipalities also contribute to the Management Plan’s implementation and the improvement. Both Cerveteri and Tarquinia municipalities collaborate in a cultural promotion plan that provides specific educational activities in public schools.

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